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Shadow Over Sojenka - An Old-School Campaign

 Welcome to Shadow Over Sojenka, an old-school D&D campaign designed to explore the second oldest dungeon of all, Tonisborg! We will be ...

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

How 1:1 Downtime Pacesetting Works in this Campaign

 YOU CAN NOT HAVE A MEANINGFUL CAMPAIGN

IF STRICT TIME RECORDS ARE NOT KEPT.

Gary Gygax, 1st Edition DMG

I use a method of strict, uniform timekeeping in this campaign. It is tied to the real-world calendar. This video gives practical examples from actual player activities. I call this 1:1 Downtime Pacesetting to avoid any confusion with the idea that time is measured on a 1:1 basis IN A GAME SESSION. 

IT IS NOT.

Time will flow at whatever pace is needed during a session, and I try to avoid having any players get more than about two weeks "into the future". 

Notes on Comments and further examinations of the 1:1 Pacing concept are found below the embedded video.

 Please share any comments or question below, I will be glad to elaborate further if needed.

THIS POST IS STILL UNDER DEVELOPMENT. I will be adding more examples and descriptions to illustrate the principles I am talking about.





 

Why Use 1:1 Downtime Pacing?

I advocate playing D&D as a Wargame Campaign & survival horror RPG.

It's my sincere belief that if people alter their perspective, away from the method-acting, self-insert style that is most prominent, they might discover previously unimaginable possibilities for the hobby.


It does say "medieval wargames campaigns" right on the cover...

My purpose and goal is to discern the Core Principles of the "Wargame Approach" and experiment with ways to incorporate them with other RPG systems and procedures. It's my belief that 1:1 pacing is necessary to create (i.e., provide suitable conditions to mechanically facilitate) opportunities for an expanded type of RPG. A real "old-school" RPG, with:

... different player/character groups operating in the same area.

... armies, bandit groups, and tribes of humanoids/nomads moving around the map all at the same time.

... characters performing Spy missions in downtime between sessions,

... prepping for a Heist in downtime between sessions, 

... chasing down rumors and secrets of treasure hoards.

Some RPG enthusiasts claim 1:1 Pacing is NOT necessary, because they don't do these sort of activities in their games. I think a lot of these people look at timekeeping as a function of the campaign rules, rather than the campaign becomes a function of the timekeeping rules.

For me it's not a question of, "1:1 pacing can work IF you play this one particular way", it's addressing the timekeeping from the perspective that we're using 1:1 pacing for the specific purpose of intentionally playing this one particular way.

What About the Story?

The game was indeed glommed by Theater Kids from the beginning. That's not meant to be disparaging, that's what they called themselves. Arguments about Method-acting vs Wargame Campaigns are in the earliest issues of Dragon magazine.

Played as intended, and originally approached, the players get to participate in a creative endeavor, where "The Story" is observed, not scripted. It emerges from the choices made by the players, and by their responses to random events.

Today many games do high-fantasy Heroplay much better than the older versions of D&D. They also do it better than the latest edition of D&D, which is marketed and supported as a story game. My sincere recommendation, for those gamers who prefer a more scripted, narrative (or "collaborative storytelling"-style) game is to try one of the others & see if it works better.

In fact, that is the essence of what I am doing with this campaign, testing ideas and gaming theories in an ongoing, actual-play environment. The concepts discussed in these pages are not "theory crafting". The players in the two sessions are actively involved in testing out these ideas and seeing just how far they can go!

1:1 Downtime Pacing solves many problems and creates many opportunities, that pause-time gamers might not be aware of, or accept as simply part of the game.

Before we go too much further, I recommend that you get this book (Tony Bath's Ancient Wargaming) as an additional reference manual. 



It is a valuable resource for best practices:
  • for learning the basic, fundamental procedures of Mass Combat
  • for Logistics and Resource Management
  • for an example of how a Wargame Campaign can be played
This book is a large part of the source material for the gaming traditions Gygax used to create AD&D. In fact, he considered these principles so basic and ubiquitous, that he glossed over many of them in writing the rules. For example, principles of formations in massed combat, or the effects of morale on large units of troops.

The Hyborian Campaign session reports are a valuable example of what kind of game is possible.


CORE PRINCIPLES

Multiple Characters for each  Player

The STRUCTURE of 1:1 time ENCOURAGES the creation of multiple characters & participation in multiple groups. It offers the opportunity for characters to participate in activities between sessions such as spying, training, trading, shopping for special items, and more. These activities can devour valuable session time, and take away from the experience of other players at the table. When you move these activities out of the session, and into the time between sessions, it makes the table time more productive and rewarding.

"...each character as a faction itself" is a core principle, not a side effect, of playing D&D, or other RPGs, as a wargame campaign. There is a reason the older versions of the game have extensive rules for attracting Hirelings, Henchmen, and men at arms: because this is how a Player Character develops a Faction of their own, starting with session one!

A first-level Fighter can act as a Sergeant, commanding up to 10 men at arms. This is a massive force multiplier for small or beginning character groups. Many players view the Magic-User as a one-trick pony at low levels, bemoaning the fact that they only have one spell at first level and when it's gone the character is dead weight. Nothing could be further from the truth when the game is played as it is described in the rules! A first-level Magic-User gets their spell book for free, included as part of their character class. this would otherwise be an enormous expense. The starting MU does not need to buy weapons or armor for themselves. This means they can recruit and equip men at arms to help do their fighting for them! A couple of men with spears, swords, and bows in light armor are extremely versatile in terms of aiding the party in combat or overcoming other obstacles.

Prime Requisites and XP bonuses

Characters with high Ability Scores gain bonuses to gained experience. This bonus is 5% or 10%, which does not seem like much, and I have seen blog posts where people have done the math and determined the effect of the bonus to be negligible, based on a regular schedule of session play.

In the 1:1 Downtime Pacing, multi-player-character style of play, some PCs will be active in more game sessions than others. Some players will be more active than others as some might participate every week, while others every other week., or less

A PC with a 10% bonus who adventures twice as often as a PC without a bonus will advance quite a bit faster! A player who shows up every week, and only runs his PC out <7 days, gets to adventure (earn XP) every week. Somebody that takes longer trips in-game, and maybe only shows up to play once or twice a month or so, is going to get left way behind.




Long Trips are an Opportunity for Further Play


Some people have been asking about specifically how you handle long journeys with 1:1 Pacing, while others, well, seem to misunderstand:


Week 1: we get on the boat to far-away-land YAY!

Week 2: do we get to play this week - Nope you are on a boat that is all you do, go home.

Week 3 - 8: do we get to play this week - Nope you are still on a boat that is all you do, go home.

Week 9: you can now play your character - Oh man, I can't even remember what we were doing 2 months ago!

People can play like this, but, I personally do not want to play vs. a freezing time wall where I am forced to stop.

This is an incorrect view of the procedure, and of the Wargame Campaign mindset.

EXAMPLE: If a party embarks on a ship for a long journey, say 6 weeks, I would get them started with some encounter checks for the first week. This can be done in a short time, in-session.
then, at each successive weekly session, use 10-15 mins to check in with the players for those characters:
  • Resolve encounter checks (that you notified them of prior to the next session)
  • disease/illness checks,
  • random maladies, etc.
If an encounter seems particularly challenging, or just interesting, the PCs may want to detour or spend a larger portion of a session on it.
In the meantime, the rest of each session is spent with the Players' other characters, doing whatever they want to do, and pursuing their own goals.

Thursday, February 1, 2024

February 1024 Events

 Each month I will post the randomly generated Campaign Events that take place, as well as any public activities of the Downtime- or Session Players.


1 Feb 1024

Domain events:

The Goblin Slave market has come upon hard times. The supply of new Goblin captives was at a trickle, and seems to have come to a halt. The price of trained Goblin Slaves has jumped to 70-85 GP.


A large caravan of over 100 refugees from Argos has entered the province. They are fleeing the conflict between Argos and Shem. They are easy to spot, with their unusual clothing styles and accents. Many of the lodgings are booked solid with these refugees.

8 Feb 1024

"Adventurers Interested in an opportunity involving danger & riches, see  Sons of Mithra Secretary at their Kastav office."

12 Feb 1024 

The Red Prince is rumored to be sending a great Champion to the Demon-gate, while the Governor has just send a cadre of his most experienced warriors and his Imperial Sorcerer to confront the demons!

They left the city in a great parade, behind a choir of singers and a bevy of brightly-clothed musicians. (

20 Feb 1024 

The vile creatures of the Gateway Fortress have been defeated! Many of the captured women were rescued, and in the the care of the Imperial Pantheon, for healing and recuperation.

The black-winged creatures were no demons, but flesh-and-blood monsters of a kind never seen before.

The corpses of these creatures are being mounted on great spikes at the walls of Samichi, and will soon adorn the walls of every settlement in Kordun!

A mighty Paladin of Hades rode into Samichi at the head of the victorious forces, displaying the head of the wicked queen of the evil beings on a long pike. The cries of joy and praise to great Hades rose to the skies in peals.

Governor Asharem has declared 19 Feb to be the great Holy Day of the Order of Hades, and a festival shall take place in Sojenka from 22-24 February.

Monday, January 1, 2024

January 1024 Events

 Starting this year I will be posting the random Campaign and Domain Events generated for the game, plus any Downtime- or Session Player activities that have visible, public effects.


4 January 1024

Another proclamation is made by Governor Asharem, "Every effort is being made to fight the demons marauding from the north! The Company of the Golden Lion will be joining in the fight against these foul creatures!

Just after noon the Company of the Golden Lions rides out of Sojenka, in a grand parade, and once more the streets are thronged with people cheering and praying. The bells of every temple ring!

7 Jan 1024

The Silver Stags return to Samichi in terrible shape! A story runs like wildfire through town that they encountered an entire army of armored skeletons who were nigh invincible. Half of their number died in the battle and most of the rest are wounded.

9 Jan 1024

Every archer and crossbowman in the province has been conscripted to guard Samichi. The weaponsmiths are working overtime forging cold-iron and silver points! (edited)

26 Jan 1024

Criers move through the markets and the streets of every quarter calling out a message and a call to arms!

"The Keepers of the Keys are seeking a brave cleric willing to take on a quest to shut the maw of the demonic portal. Those that accept will be presented with a legendary Flail, the Spiked Censer of Alastor, noted for its capabilities against demons. Those interested should contact the Keepers of the Keys where they can be prepared to take on the quest."

Thursday, December 28, 2023

WIP Psionics Rules

 

Psionics in Sojenka

There are no rules for Psionics in Holmes or Blueholme, but it is such a staple of Pulp fiction and the weird-fantasy concept that I needed to find a way to add it to the milieu.

The Psionics rules in AD & D could be clearer, especially when it comes to Psychic Combat. I decided to analyze some other weird fantasy rules and see what they might have to offer.

Swords and Super-Science of Xuhlan, a sourcebook for Warriors of the Red Planet, has some interesting rules, pared down from AD&D but still cumbersome. The rules have five each of Attack and Defense modes, with a chart showing how the individual abilities fare against the others.

It occurred to me that this could be turned into a more streamlined "mental combat", complete with an attack roll versus a psychic 'armor class'. I changed the results matrix into a table resembling the Weapon vs Armor Class table in the PHB. This simplifies the multiple calculations that Xuhlan uses.



Possessing and manipulating psychic energy requires a minimum score of 11 in Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. These scores are added together to determine Psychic Strength. The Psychic Strength score is divided in two for Attack and Defense mode "points". These points are spent to engage in psychic combat, so a bit of bookkeeping is involved.

Notes on Charisma Bonus:

If a PC has an INT of 12, WIS of 12 and CHA of 12 they will have a Psychic Strength of 36.

If this same PC were to have a CHA of 14 they would get a bonus of 20 points for a total of 56.

If a PC has INT 12, WIS 12 and CHA of 17, they would receive a bonus of 40 points & their Psychic Strength would be 76.

The 20 pt & 40 pt bonuses are not cumulative.


The Attack and Defense modes are listed as follows:

A psychically-endowed PC may spend 5 Defense points per day to keep a Thought Shield up, protecting their mind from attack, at all times. If they find themselves in a mental combat, this PC would only be able to use Sensory Wave, Psychic Overload, or Possession as Attack modes for as long as the Thought Shield is up. They would be immune to an attack via Id Penetration.


I'll also begin working on creating a "Psychic" character class (or two), which will be focused on these abilities. I will probably take a look at existing OSR classes like the ones in Warriors of the Red Planet, etc.

In the next blarg we'll take a look at the Disciplines and Powers that would be available to Psionic PCs.
As always, comments and constructive criticism are welcome.






Thursday, November 2, 2023

Winning as an RPG Player

One of the players in this campaign, who goes by the nom de guerre Brigadine, has shared a great blog post with some tips on being a better Player in an RPG Campaign. He has graciously allowed me to share a snippet here:

Winning as a Player

This is a thread that I posted to Twitter, thus the abbreviated length and detail. I may go into it further later but I wanted to share it here as well. Enjoy.


The conversation around success at RPGs has been focused around DMing properly because most of the people involved in the discussion are DMs. The player side of the table needs some attention so I’m going to share some advice to lead your adventuring party to the next level.


My perspective is from the brOSR lens of 1:1 time, use of downtime, and Patrons. I have no interest in debating the viability of these gaming mechanics. They simply are. The advice that I offer will be valuable even in conventional games but shines best in the light of the aforementioned mechanics.


The single most important thing that affects your success at the table is the cohesion of the players in the game. Everyone needs to be on the same page in regards to why they’re playing and what they hope to get out of it. Some call it alignment language, which I think is apt, but whatever you call it, you have to be a unit as people before you can be one as PCs.


The most successful parties are smaller. You get diminishing returns on party sizes above 4 in every aspect of the game but combat effectiveness and downtime hook generation. Efficiency is key to success and smaller parties are more efficient.


You must set goals as a group. Chasing every random hook that pops up leads to chaos and ineffectiveness. Ignore a rumor or hook in favor of your stated goal. Focus on the task at hand and execute in pursuit of that goal, always.

Read the whole thing here: Winning As A Player